


Casual Observers: . . . And Perceptive Older Brothers

by Browneyesparker



Series: Casual Observers [2]
Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Casual Observers, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Older Brothers, Romance, Siblings, girl meets world - Freeform, joshaya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-04-13 08:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4514757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browneyesparker/pseuds/Browneyesparker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cory Matthews knew from the very first moment that his younger brother Joshua met Maya Hart when they were five and eight that something special was going to happen. The way Josh’s eyes lit up when the girl who was more hair than person walked in the room, the way she looked at him like he was a Disney prince. </p><p>Part of my "Casual Observers" series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casual Observers: . . . And Perceptive Older Brothers

**.**

**Chapter 2**

****

_. . . And Perceptive Older Brothers_

Cory Matthews knew from the very first moment that his younger brother Joshua met Maya Hart when they were five and eight that something special was going to happen. The way Josh’s eyes lit up when the girl who was more hair than person walked in the room, the way she looked at him like he was a Disney prince.

He wasn’t the smartest person in the world but if there was one thing he was an expert on it was _love_ , he could recognize the signs before anybody else could. And even though many people would call it foolish, his young charge and little brother had fallen in love that sunny Saturday afternoon in June.

Of course it would take them a while to realize it but that was just fine, they were children after all. They had their whole lives ahead of them to figure things out.

One day during their visit, he and Topanga walked in on the two of them dancing to Disney CDs. Maya was balancing on a pair of Amy’s discarded high heels. Josh was wearing one of Allan’s old suit coat and holding her up so she wouldn’t fall down while they did their very best to dance to _Can You Feel the Love Tonight._  

Topanga awed softly and gave Cory a look that said _isn’t that one of the most precious things that you have_ EVER _seen?!?!?!_

And Cory knew that she knew too.

**.**

 

The next summer, Josh stayed with them while their parents went back to Europe for some much needed alone time. 

Maya was there too. Fresh out of her own mother and father’s divorce, she had become withdrawn and sullen. Not even Riley and her infectious nature could draw her out, so Cory didn’t have much hope for Josh either even though the pair had been inseparable the year before.

One night, after one of his tutoring sessions with the girl on the ground level, he walked in and saw the two of them sitting together on the floor. Josh was holding Maya’s hand and rubbing circles in her tiny knuckles while he whispered something in her ear. The smile that had been missing from her face for such a long time suddenly reappeared and then they hugged each other.

Cory went inside then and threw his briefcase down on the couch. Josh looked up at him and gave him a gap-toothed smile.

“Look,” he said, proud of himself. “I found Maya’s smile!”

“I can see that!” Cory answered, kneeling down and grinning at the both of them. “And I’m so glad you did, we were all getting worried that it would never come back!”

 

**.**

 

They were all at Morgan’s wedding in Philadelphia; they had brought 10-year-old Maya along with them to keep Riley company for the weekend. But like usual, her and Josh had gravitated to each other. 

Currently, Cory was watching the young pair spin around on the dance floor to _Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me_. Maya was barefoot and her plastic daisy crown was lopsided on her golden curls, her white sparkly dress glittered in the white lights of the dance floor while it swished around her knees. Josh was barefoot too, his emerald green bowtie was hanging untied around his shoulders while he whirled her around and around, dipping her over the crook of his elbow like he had seen another couple do earlier that night when he pulled her up again, she laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist while he held onto her a little more securely.

The moment was interrupted when Topanga came up to him, looking stunning in her figure-flattering, satin emerald bridesmaid dress. “You know, if my hunch is correct, you’ll have _years_ to watch Josh and Maya. Why don’t you take a break and come dance with me?” she whispered.

He was more than happy to join his youngest brother and Maya on the dance floor when Topanga put it _that_ way.

**.**

They didn’t meet again until she was 14 and Josh was on the edge of 17.

Cory wasn’t so excited to see Shawn again that he _didn’t_ notice the exchange between them. It was more awkward than anything, which was usually the case with two teenagers who liked each other.

Maya hugged him and muttered something. Josh smiled and told her that he wasn’t her uncle, when he pulled away; he looked her over and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Wow! You grew up gorgeous!” He said before walking away.

Maya’s gaze followed him, her face brighter than any Christmas tree, there was a spark of something in her eyes but Cory knew she wouldn’t put a name to it yet because she had given up on _hope_ a very, very long time ago.

**.**

“You probably already know this but our little brother likes a girl, Cor!” Morgan announced like it was some sort of thing Cory had never thought of before.

Cory laughed. “I know that, I don’t see how it constitutes a trip all the way from Ireland though. I’m sure you’ll meet her someday.”

“He was lying about it!” Morgan said. “Or he is in total denial! So, I came here to do some investigating.”

Cory raised an eyebrow, knowing he just had to protect Josh and Maya at _all_ costs. “Morgan, do you have any idea who this girl actually is?”

On cue, Maya and Riley sauntered in the apartment with their arms interlocked, his brother-in-law Mark wasn’t far behind them, rolling his and Morgan’s suitcase along. Cory could tell from the look in Morgan’s eyes that the last piece of the puzzle had finally fallen into place.

Even though Cory was panicking on the inside, he kept calm and collected on the outside; being the mature adult he usually was when it came to his students as he tried to distract his sister with soda or at least a nap.

Much to his dismay, both Morgan and Mark refused to take naps until Josh came. He was trying to persuade his sister to come to the kitchen with him when their baby brother came through the door.

Cory was almost in full blown panic mode before he quickly defused the situation and sent Josh, Maya and Riley down the hall to pick up Auggie from Ava’s. When they were finally gone, he set in on giving Morgan a talking to.

Really! As much as he knew someday in the future Josh and Maya would be getting together, now really wasn’t the time or place for it to happen. Their age difference alone could get Josh into so much trouble. He was _shocked_ Morgan wasn’t taking this into consideration. But instead of giving her the litany that was flowing through his head, he told her that he _knew_ true love when he saw it and requested that she just relax and enjoy their visit.

Thankfully, she took what he said into consideration and left the two of them alone for the duration of her stay in New York even though he knew she was more than tempted to tease them both mercilessly the whole entire time.

And as much as he loved Morgan, he was happy when she was on a flight back to Ireland.

Crisis averted.

Until somebody else in their family realized what was going on between them and honestly, he was surprised it hadn’t happened _sooner_.

 

**.**

 

Amy laughed but not unkindly. “You think we don’t know what’s going on, Cor? We dealt with you and Topanga long enough to _exactly_ what’s going on! You’re not concerned about it, are you?”

“No,” Cory answered. “They’re both handling it really well. Josh isn’t doing anything that would get him into trouble but I just thought you should know what was happening. I didn’t want you to think I was keeping things from you. . . and Morgan knows now, I guess it’ll be a matter of time before everybody else in the family finds out.”

“We trust you Cor,” Any told him. “I’m sure you’re keeping Josh in check and that you won’t let anything happen. But I already knew I knew the second that Maya Hart walked through the door something was going to happen between the two of them. He looked at her like she was a Disney princess or something. He had that same look when we came to New York for Christmas last year and it gets goofier every single time he comes home from visiting you guys. He has it bad, doesn’t he?”

“I think he does,” Cory replied. “Although he would _never_ admit it. She does too but she has no problem admitting it.”

“Well, at least she feels the same way,” Amy said. “That’s the least I could ask for.”

 

**.**

 

“Maya and Josh!” Eric said one day over root beer floats and Goldfish crackers with Auggie.

Cory looked a little surprised. “How long have you known?”

“Um, I dunno. Forever? How could you _not_ have known?” Eric replied.

“Eric, I’ve _always_ known!” Cory answered, shaking his head. “Ever since we first brought Maya to Philly for the summer.”

“I knew when they danced at Morgan’s wedding,” Eric told him. “Maybe. They were so young then, I think it could have just been wishful thinking.”

“Did you know all those times you came for a visit?”

“When Josh would ask me how Maya was when I would talk to him after a visit,” Eric answered. “I always looked at all of them like they were little kids who didn’t have any kind of romantic feelings at all. But I’ve always known in the back of my mind. How are things going between them now? You see them more than I do.”

Cory sighed. “They’re still going slowly, which should be fine, I know. Maya isn’t even out of high school yet. . . but they’re pretty good friends.”

“And that is a good foundation as any,” Eric pointed out in one of his smarter moments.

Cory grinned. “It is _that_ ,” he agreed.  

**.**

 

“Josh?” Cory overheard Maya say one night when she and Riley were both seniors in high school.

“Yeah, Maya?” Josh asked juggling a large textbook and his leather messenger bag.

“I was wondering if you would be my prom date?” Maya asked straight off and not all like she had rehearsed it with Riley and Auggie two days earlier. _“Please?”_

“You want _me_ to be your prom date?” Josh asked his book crashed to the floor.

“Just as friends!” Maya said quickly.

Cory knew she said it because she thought it was what Josh would want to hear, the two of them had been doing things together since he had moved to New York and labeling it _just friends_ even though he and Topanga had known it was so much more than that and they were only pretending because it was the right thing to do.

“I wasn’t saying I wouldn’t go with you,” Josh told her gently. “I might have to clear a few things off my schedule but that’s as good as done. Now are you _sure_ that you want _me_ to be your prom date?”

“Yeah,” Maya answered. “Besides, it isn’t like anybody else has asked me to go.”

“They haven’t?” Josh asked a note of surprise in his voice.

Maya shook her head. “Nope.”

Cory felt a little bad because he had heard a rumor that Farkle Minkus had made sure nobody asked Maya to go to prom with them. But by the time he had heard about it, it was too late to do anything to stop his A+ student. Besides, he had an inkling that Farkle _knew_ too and all he was trying to do was give Maya a hand by allowing her to go to the dance with the person she actually wanted to.

“Well. . .” Josh trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck like he usually did when he was around Maya. “Well. I would be _honored_ to take you to your prom, Maya.”

Cory smiled and walked away, things could only get better from here. It was only a matter of time before these two finally crashed into each other faster than the speed of light.

**.**

It was the last dance of the night.

Dancing was such inaugural part of their relationship; Cory couldn’t imagine Josh would let the evening end without Maya in his arms. One of the things the two of them did well together was _dance_.

When it finally happened, when Josh had finally led Maya to the dance floor, Cory nodded at Farkle who went to the DJ and slipped him a hundred dollar bill to play a song that wasn’t on the set list. It didn’t take long for the requested song to fill the gym.

Josh and Maya stopped dancing when they heard the familiar song, it was a different singer, a different version but it was still the same song they had danced to as kids at Morgan’s wedding.

Cory smiled; Riley had done well in finding an updated version of _Hold Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me_. He saw her standing on the sidelines with Lucas and gave her two thumbs up while Josh and Maya started to dance again, slower this time.

Maya rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Josh put his arms around her like he was hugging her and swayed with her to the music, closing his own eyes. Cory knew it was like the whole school had disappeared and they were the only two people in the gym.

 

**.**

Except nothing happened between them for another seven months. It was New Year’s Eve, the clock had just struck midnight and they had both kissed, the only uncoupled couple at the party. When it was over, Riley and Maya and Josh all disappeared.

Cory knew Maya was in good hands with Riley, so he went off to talk to his brother. It was finally time to say the things he had wanted to say for years.

He had a feeling that Josh would finally ready to hear them.

 

 **.**  

“We’re getting married!” Josh said, holding up Maya’s hand as they came into the apartment almost a year later.

Everybody gathered in Cory and Topanga’s apartment cheered and clustered around them to look at the ring and offer their congratulations and hug the couple.

Later on, when the chaos and impromptu engagement party had died down, Josh asked Cory to be his best man. It would be only right, he told his older brother, since he had known the truth all along.

Cory was surprised at first, he had thought the honor of being best man would go to one of Josh’s college friends, He had never allowed himself to imagine that he would stand right beside his baby brother on his big day.

“I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it besides you,” Josh told him. “Come on and just say you’ll do it, Cor! It’s only fitting. Remember? You knew this was going to happen since the very first day I met Maya.”

“Okay, okay! I’ll do it!” Cory finally agreed.

Josh hugged him. “Thanks Cor! It means a lot to me!”

 

**.**

It wasn’t quite unlike the second time they had danced, she was barefoot and in a white dress. He was barefoot too and his bowtie was undone, they were even dancing to the same version of the song they had been dancing to at Morgan’s wedding. Except this time, they were considerably older and it was _their_ wedding reception.

This time, Josh was stealing kisses every five seconds from a blushing Maya who was more than happy to kiss him back.

Cory felt like he had seen them dance one hundred times but it never got old. It made him smile just like it had all the other times.

 

**_The End_**

 

**.**

**Author's Note:**

> Public service announcement, first! Starting next week, I will be posting stories, updating chapters on Fridays. This is something I usually do on Fridays when school starts because I feel like it gives my readers something to look forward to if they are in school. If you’re not in school, it gives you something to look forward to simply because summer vacation is almost over. Next up, I hope you enjoyed this installment of “Casual Observers” and that you will tell me what you thought. I am BLOWN away by the support for the first part! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m not sure who will be next but it’ll come to me soon. I just need to decide whose story is strongest in my head (right now it’s a tie between Lucas and Jasmine). Until then, please tell me what you thought! 
> 
> Until Next Time!
> 
> Love,  
> Holly, 8/6/2015_
> 
> P.S  
> This chapter was written last night when I couldn’t sleep. So, all mistakes are from staying up too late and being a little too giddy.


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